Turkey Braced for Protests after Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Return

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Loyalists supporting Turkey's leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan rallied to support him overnight, setting up a potential showdown with angry protesters.

Greeted by thousands of cheering supporters as he landed back in Istanbul in the early hours from an overseas trip, the prime minister defied the protesters rallying against him and his conservative reforms as he fought to settle the sharpest challenge yet to his decade-long rule.

"I call for an immediate end to the demonstrations, which have lost their democratic credentials and turned into vandalism," Erdogan said in a speech at Istanbul's main airport.

He insisted he was the "servant" of all the people, but hinted that he would act against further defiance.

"We cannot turn a blind eye to anybody disturbing peace in the country and trying to hijack democracy," he said.

The stakes rose on Friday for Turkey's international image as Erdogan's office said he was due to meet with European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule [WIKI]. » | AFP | Friday, June 07, 2013

Twitter, Spies & Looters: Erdogan Blames 'Foreign Agents' for Turkey Riots
For a sixth night running in Turkey, it was more of the same. Clashes leading to police unleashing their water cannons and tear gas on protesters. A third fatality has been confirmed in the unrest, after a man died from head injuries in an Ankara hospital. Activists want the police chiefs responsible for their violent tactics removed and urged officials to ban the use of tear gas. Protesters also want all those that have been detained, released saying that could end the days of riots. The Turkish Prime minister returns from a trip to North Africa later, and will be expected to do something about the public discontent which has seen demands for him to reverse all his policies. But as RT's Irina Galushko reports, Erdogan appears to be looking for scapegoats.

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Inside Story: Is Turkey in Turmoil?
As anger over plans to develop city park fuel nationwide protests, we ask if these tensions will tarnish Turkey' image.

Turkish Cops Squelch Protesters as Violent Clashes Continue
Turkey is currently being rocked by its biggest wave of anti-government protests in years. At least two people have been killed and thousands injured from clashes with police since the protests began on Friday. Videos and images have emerged on social media showing police in riot gear firing tear gas, using pepper spray and physically beating demonstrators.

Tens of Thousands in Iran Protest against Khamenei, Chant 'Death to Dictator'
A funeral of a senior dissident cleric turns into biggest anti-government protest in years.

Read the Haaretz article here | Haaretz and Reuters | Wednesday, June 05, 2013

'Woman in Red' Sprayed with Teargas Becomes Symbol of Turkey Protests

THE GUARDIAN: Images of a smartly dressed woman being sprayed with teargas by a riot policeman during protests in Istanbul's Taksim Square have been shared on social media around the world

Istanbul's police chief had said his forces would only use teargas as a last resort. But the images seem to show the officer targeting an unarmed woman. » | Lewis Williamson | Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Protests in Turkey: 'Taksim Square Belongs to Us'

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The protests in Turkey have brought together people from all walks of life, including engineers, teachers, construction workers, leftists and even some former supporters of Prime Minister Erdogan. They are demanding changes in a country that is more divided than ever before.

An engineer, who stumbles through the clouds of pepper spray. A doctor to be, who brings medicine and lemon juice, which is supposed to help limit the effects of tear gas. A teacher, who is filming everything with her camcorder. A foreign exchange student, who is there to experience the revolutionary atmosphere. A left-wing activist, who has been camping for days on Taksim Square in the heart of Istanbul, defending it against the police.

All kinds of people are demonstrating against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Monday night marked just the latest gathering in Turkey's biggest city, part of the wave of protests that has spread across the country after a handful of people in Istanbul came out to prevent the destruction of a small park in the city. It has become a revolt. Hundreds, if not thousands, in Taksim Square have refused to go home and continue to brave the tear gas wafting through the streets. Though the situation has calmed down since the weekend, protesters remain behind their makeshift barricades, made of police barriers and whatever else they could find.

"We are staying until Tayyip goes and we have our freedom," says 24-year-old Balkan. He has taken a break from making films and now sees himself primarily as part of the resistance movement. Looking out at the people on the square, he says "they are all my friends." » | Oliver Trenkamp in Istanbul | Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Workers Strike in Support of Turkey Protests
Two-day strike under way to protest over government's harsh response to demonstrations that have swept the nation.

Read the Al Jazeera article here | Source: Al Jazeera and agencies | Tuesday, June 04, 2013

'Looks Like War': Barricades & Tear Gas Fill Turkish Streets as Clashes Continue
A wave of violence in Turkey has seen riot police clash with protesters for a fourth day running. Security forces used tear gas and water cannons, as protesters responded with stones and built barricades. Activists also tried to break through police lines and attack the Prime Minister's office. RT's Irina Galushko reports from Istanbul.

Turkey: Erdogan Brands Protesters 'Extremists' and 'Looters'
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused protestors of being "extremists", further antagonizing anti-government demonstrators after four days of mass popular protests.

Read the article here | Ruth Sherlock in Istanbul | Monday, June 03, 2013

Revolt in Turkey: Erdogan's Grip on Power Is Rapidly Weakening

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: For a decade, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has had a tight grip on power. But it suddenly looks to be weakening. Thousands have taken to the streets across the country and the threats to Erdogan's rule are many. His reaction has revealed him to be hopelessly disconnected.

The rooftops of Istanbul can be seen in the background and next to them is a gigantic image of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey's powerful prime minister is watching over the city -- and is also monitoring the work of the political party he controls. At least that seems to be the message of the image, which can be found in a conference room at the headquarters of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP).

These days, though, Istanbul is producing images that carry a distinctly different meaning -- images of violent protests against the vagaries of Erdogan's rule. And it is beginning to look as though the prime minister, the most powerful leader Turkey has seen since the days of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, might be losing control.

As recently as mid-May, Erdogan boasted during an appearance at the Brookings Institute in Washington D.C. of the $29 billion airport his government was planning to build in Istanbul. "Turkey no longer talks about the world," he said. "The world talks about Turkey."

Just two weeks later, he appears to have been right -- just not quite in the way he had anticipated. The world is looking at Turkey and speaking of the violence with which Turkish police are assaulting demonstrators at dozens of marches across the country. Increasingly, Erdogan is looking like an autocratic ruler whose people are no longer willing to tolerate him. » | Özlem Gezer, Maximilian Popp and Oliver Trenkamp | Monday, June 03, 2013

Protests and Prayers Sweep the Arab World
Thousands of people turned out for demonstrations and prayers on the streets of Egypt, Yemen and Syria.

Read article here | Friday, November 25, 2011

'Chilling' Footage of Protesters at UC Davis Being Pepper Sprayed Prompts Outrage
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Footage of protesters being blasted with pepper spray by a police officer while demonstrating on the UC Davis campus, has prompted international outrage and calls for the chancellor's resignation.


The video shows a member of the university police force, displaying a bottle before spraying its contents on the seated protesters in a sweeping motion while walking back and forth. Most of the protesters have their heads down, but several were hit directly in the face.

Some members of a crowd gathered at the scene scream and cry out. The crowd then chants, "Shame on You," as the protesters on the ground are led away. The officers retreat minutes later with helmets on and batons drawn.

Nine students hit by pepper spray were treated at the scene, two were taken to hospitals and later released, university officials said.

The protest was held in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement and in solidarity with protesters at the University of California, Berkeley who were jabbed by police with batons on November 9.

As the video images circulated on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter over the weekend, the university's faculty association called on University's Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi to resign, saying in a letter there had been a "gross failure of leadership."

"The Chancellor's role is to enable open and free enquiry, not to suppress it," the faculty association said in its letter.

It called Ms Katehi's authorisation of police force a "gross failure of leadership." Read on and comment » | Josie Ensor | Sunday, November 20, 2011

Police Arrest Protesters On Occupy Wall Street March

THE INDEPENDENT: Hundreds of Occupy demonstrators marched through New York's financial district today in an attempt to block traders from reaching the New York Stock Exchange, promising a national day of action with mass gatherings in other cities.

The action came two days after authorities cleared their encampment that sparked the global protest movement against economic inequality and greed.

Frustrations seemed to spill over in the park at the center [sic] of the protest as hundreds of people shoved back the metal police barricades that have long surrounded the area. A live television shot from above showed waves of police and protesters briefly pushing back and forth before the barricades appeared to be settled at the edge of the park once more.

"All day, all week, shut down Wall Street!" the crowd chanted, clogging the streets as they neared the stock exchange.

Police said about 50 or 60 people were arrested, including several who sat on the ground one block from Wall Street and refusing to move.

Some of the police hit protesters as they resisted arrest. Most of the marchers retreated.

The protest did not delay the opening of the New York Stock Exchange or disrupt business, said Rich Adamonis, a spokesman for the exchange. » | Karen Matthews | Thursday, November 17, 2011

Occupy Wall Street: Protesters Vow to Fight On
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Protesters have flooded back into the New York park where police demolished their two-month-old tent camp, vowing to step up the Occupy Wall Street campaign despite a ban on camping out there.

The movement to protest alleged corporate greed and political dysfunction was thrown into crisis during a turbulent 24 hours on Tuesday that began with a surprise early morning police raid on the privately-owned Zuccotti Park.

Protesters then spent the day playing cat-and-mouse with authorities as they sought to re-establish their base near Wall Street, the symbolic epicenter of a movement that has inspired similar protests in other US cities and abroad.

In the evening, police reopened the park and let the protesters back in one-by-one - but only after a New York judge backed a ban on pitching tents, rejecting the demonstrators' legal challenge to the dismantling of the camp.

"No one will be denied entry," a police officer said at the gate, as people began to wander back in. Organisers put the number at 1,200. Once inside, the crowd began to chant: "All day, all week, occupy Wall Street."

Both sides were claiming victory after judge Michael Stallman ruled that the owners of the park and the authorities were not denying protesters their constitutional right to freedom of speech by banning them from camping out.

"Zuccotti Park will remain open to all who want to enjoy it, as long as they abide by the park's rules," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement. » | November 16, 2011

Tide Turns against Occupy Wall Street

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Occupy Wall Street protesters in several US cities faced mounting pressure from police to abandon their encampments, as the tide appeared to be turning against the movement.

The Occupy protests are now nearly two months old, having begun in New York's financial district on Sept 17 as a demonstration against income inequality and corporate greed.

This weekend however officials across the country urged an end to gatherings and camps were cleared in Salt Lake City, Utah and Denver, Colorado.

In Portland, Oregon thousands of people gathered in two adjacent city parks in an overnight stand off with police. The city's mayor Sam Adams had ordered a camp there to be shut down by midnight Saturday, citing unhealthy conditions and the camp's attraction of drug users and thieves. There had been four non-fatal drug overdoses in recent weeks.

But early on Sunday 3,000 people converged on the area and protest organisers said that would make it difficult for police to carry out an eviction.

Occupy Portland spokesman Jordan LeDoux said: "We're going to sit-in and force them to arrest us." » | Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Sunday, November 13, 2011

NY Mayor Talks Tough on OWS as Momentum Grows

Rowan Williams Warns of 'Urgent Issues' Raised by Protests as Third St Paul's Clergyman Resigns
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has warned that "urgent" issues raised by the protesters at St Paul's Cathedral must be properly addressed as the Dean, the Rt Rev Graeme Knowles, resigned.

He said the resignation, which followed that of Rev Dr Giles Fraser, the Canon Chancellor, was "very sad news" and that the events of the past fortnight had shown "how decisions made in good faith by good people under unusual pressure can have utterly unforeseen and unwelcome consequences".

Speaking publicly about the crisis for the first time, Dr Williams added: "The urgent larger issues raised by the protesters at St Paul's remain very much on the table and we need – as a Church and as society as a whole – to work to make sure that they are properly addressed."

Dean Knowles, the most senior dean in the country, said the cathedral clergy had been put “under a great deal of strain” as they faced what he described as “insurmountable issues” and that his position had become “untenable”.

The announcement comes just days after Dr Fraser stepped down from his post, warning that to evict the anti-capitalist activists would constitute “violence in the name of the Church”.

A part time chaplain, Rev Fraser Dyer, has also resigned citing similar concerns. » | Victoria Ward | Monday, October 31, 2011

Vatican Sides with Anti-capitalist Protesters and Attacks Global Financial System

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Vatican aligned itself with anti-capitalism protesters around the world on Monday when it condemned "the idolatry of the market" and called for a radical shake-up of the global financial system.

By demanding that the worst excesses of global capitalism be reined in, the Holy See echoed the message of protesters encamped outside St Paul's Cathedral in London, the indignados of Spain and the Occupy Wall Street movement in the US.

In a forthright statement, the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace called for an end to rampant speculation, the redistribution of wealth, greater ethics and the establishment of a "central world bank" to which national banks would have to cede power.

Such an authority would have "universal jurisdiction" over governments' economic strategies.

Existing financial situations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund were outdated and no longer able to deal with the scale of the global financial crisis, which had exposed "selfishness, greed and the hoarding of goods on a grand scale".

The global financial system was riddled with injustice and failure to address that would lead to "growing hostility and even violence", which would undermine democracy. » | Nick Squires, in Rome | Monday, October 24, 2011

My comment:

Capitalism is failing; indeed it is ailing and totally failing. The Vatican is absolutely right to call it into question.

I never thought that I would see the day I would do so myself; but capitalism is a thoroughly discredited system. It's a system which Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher brought into disrepute with their ignorant, stupid deregulation of the banks and finance houses. Now, the best system that has ever been conceived by man stands before total annihilation and destruction. It is a travesty that in the States, for example, 50% of wealth is owned by 1% of the population. This is disgraceful! – © Mark

This comment appears here

St Paul's Cathedral Announces Closure Due to 'Occupy' Protesters
It seemed a gesture of Christian tolerance when a clergyman at St Paul’s Cathedral told police to allow anti-capitalist protesters camped outside to continue their demonstration.

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